Mobile devices such as smart phones, tablet computers, electronic book readers, and other devices have seen an increase in usage in recent years. Such devices in some cases have begun to displace the use of the desktop computer. Mobile devices see much more frequent use throughout the day, which results in “wear and tear” damage to the mobile devices. Additionally, mobile devices are much more susceptible to being damaged, stolen, or lost. With so much value invested in mobile devices and with the risk of losing or breaking the mobile devices being sufficiently high, there are many benefits to having a protection policy, such as an insurance policy, warranty plan, or some other suitable program, for the mobile device. However, it is difficult for companies to assess the risk they take on when protecting or insuring such devices. The state of the mobile device when entering an insurance program is generally unknown. Even if visually inspected by an employee, there are numerous components that are not easily tested. Many warranties and insurance options are only available at the time of first sale because of the known state of the phone at that time. Thus, there is a need in the insurance field to create a new and useful method for offering an insurance policy for a mobile device, wherein the insurance policy is based upon a calculated risk of insuring the mobile device and not necessarily based upon the date of sale of the mobile device. This invention provides such a new and useful method.
Protection policies, such as warranties and insurance policies, for mobile devices currently exist, but registration of a warranty or insurance policy for a mobile device must be initiated within a substantially short period of time following the sale of the mobile device. Furthermore, if a mobile device covered by a warranty or insurance policy is damaged, the device must be taken to a customer service center so the damage can be verified. This may present an inconvenience to the owner and/or user of the mobile device and may be further disruptive to the owner and/or user if: the damage is shown to not be covered under the warranty or insurance policy; the device is shown not to be damaged but instead inhibited by a configuration of the mobile device (such as an “Airplane Mode” setting); or the owner and/or user must wait in a line before a customer service representative will verify the damage of the mobile device. Thus there is a need in the insurance field to create a new and useful method for verifying a claim on a protection policy for a mobile device. This invention also provides such a new and useful method.